Honestly
by CarnationPlaza
Summary: Prince Hans returns from Arendelle to find that a childhood friend has come to visit without his knowledge. She and him work towards rebuilding their bond as she attempts to rediscover the man that she left behind 8 years ago. (Hans/ OC pairing)
1. Chapter 1

**A/N:** Hi there! If you follow me on Tumblr, then you'll know that I've been talking about writing this for a while. I hope you guys enjoy it. This is my first chapter fanfic for Frozen, so go easy on me. Also, it's written in 3rd person omniscient, so you will get both the OC's POV and Hans' POV.

_**Chapter 1**_

The ship came to port while the moon still hung brightly in the night sky. It was quiet up in the only occupied guest room, and the warmth from the summer night could be felt even through the thick walls. The visiting princess took a look out the window, putting down the book she had been reading, surprised at what she saw. She pressed her hands up against the window to try and get a better look. Who was it? Who could it be?

"The prince," She whispered to herself, as she was the only one in the room, and dashed out the door and down the hall.

The girl bumped into a maid, "Are you alright, m'lady?"

"Oh!" She moved past her and shot her an apologetic smile, "I'm fine, thank you! Prince Hans is home!"

The princess raced down the hall and towards the stairs, hoping to be the first to see the 13th prince of the Southern Isles. It had been years since she had last seen him, and they had been such good friends before that she hoped that it could be like that again. If she had known what had conspired in Arendelle, maybe she would not have thought that way, but she was naive to the happenings so she still kept hope.

There was a warm mugginess that hung in the air and it stuck to the bare skin of her arms, but she didn't care. Picking up her skirts, she ran faster towards the docks and towards the ship that was now in port. I wonder what he looks like now. Or what he sounds like! The last time I saw him he had been so awkward and gangly looking. She couldn't stop herself from building a mental image of the prince in her mind's eye. There was too much hope, too much anticipation, and she couldn't keep it all contained.

Once she finally got to the ship she had seen, she stopped and watched as man after man got off the boat. She scanned the crowd, looking to see if Hans was any one of the men getting off, but she saw no red heads that looked like they could be the prince.

Finally, a man came down from the boat, a bit of red scruff along his chin and neck. His hair was mussed and his clothes looked dirty and in disarray. Maybe if he had been cleaner, more put together, he'd look like the prince. Also, there on his wrists were a pair of silver handcuffs that shone brightly in the moonlight. The princess tilted her head in confusion. That couldn't be Prince Hans, he couldn't be locked up in chains.

Their eyes met and for a split second, an electric charge went up her spin. She watched him mouth her name, "Alexandra", before his guards turned him away from her and began walking him in the opposite direction. All the girl could do was stand there dumbfounded as they carted off her childhood friend back towards the castle. It was as if time had stopped, and she allowed people to bump into her as she looked off into nothing.

Without much more than a though, she took off in the way the guards had headed, attempting to catch up to them. She picked up her skirts and ran as hard as she could. Air pumped in and out of her lungs, and she couldn't remember the last time she had exerted herself like this. The excitement she had experienced just ten minutes earlier had dissipated and left her feeling empty, yet so much heavier than ever before.

Hans could hear the pounding of light, quick footsteps behind him. The past few days had been absolutely miserable, and now having seen Alexandra made everything that much worse. He felt ashamed, dirty, rotten, and every other disgusting word that he could come up with. It was more than embarrassing for her to see him like that, unwashed and chained up like a criminal.

Finally, the footsteps slowed and he could hear the princess' voice behind him like a bell, "What are you doing with him?" She screamed in outrage, "Why is he locked up like that?"

The guards barely gave her a sideways glance, still carting off Hans towards the castle. He grimaced up at them, but couldn't bring himself to see exactly where the girl was. He had looked at her once, and that was already enough for him. He would lose it if he could see how upset she looked, and he wasn't about to embarrass himself further.

She continued to bark at the guards, "This is an outrage! I demand to know what's going on."

"Calm down, please, m'lady," One of the guards said in a steady voice, "This prince is just being transported to the castle. The handcuffs will come off once we get inside."

Well, that's news to me… Hans thought to himself. He couldn't wait to get back inside his castle, get the chafing devil handcuffs off his aching wrists, and to have a drink of something to help him forget about the agonizing trip home. But, he knew what awaited him, he was no fool. His brothers would surely have their go at him and he knew he was going to hear it from his father. All he could hope for is that that would be all his punishment and nothing else, but he never knew with his family.

"Well, well…" Alexandra sounded like she had more to say, but couldn't find the right words to say it, "Is he in trouble? What happened?"

But the guards would say no more, and Hans was kind of grateful for that. He hadn't seen Alexandra in years, more than he had initially thought. Had it been 5 years? 8 years, maybe? Regardless of their time apart, he still held fond memories of their time together, and those were the only fond memories he had at all. He had already most likely injured himself in her eyes, he wasn't going to ruin it any further.

All four of them entered the castle together and, just as promised, Hans' wrists were freed from the metal that had rubbed against his skin until it was raw. He stretched out his arms and attempted to carefully rub his aching wrists. It wasn't until now that he dared to look over at the princess from the corner of his eye. She was prettier than he had remembered, and much taller, but he supposed that's what time did to a person. She had only been 12, him 16, the last time they had seen each other. Their parents had last been in the talks of setting them up, but Hans never heard about it again. Now she was standing right beside him, and for a moment he wondered why she was even here. He hadn't heard about her coming to visit the Southern Isles, not even before he left for Arendelle.

The guards looked him in the eye and one of them, he assumed his name was Agnarr, commanded that he stay here until he was able to bring forth his father. Hans had to stop himself from rolling his eyes, but agreed that he would stay put. Where was he going to go anyway? The Southern Isles were just that, isles completely surrounded by water, and there was no way he would get away with sneaking onto some random ship and sailing away.

It was quiet now, just the treacherous prince, his childhood playmate, and one of the palace's knuckleheaded guards. He could hear the bustling outside, but it was too far away for him to even care about. He could see Alexandra out of the corner of his eye staring at him, then turning away, staring at him again, then turning away once more. She looked as if she wasn't sure what to make of the whole ordeal and the prince couldn't blame her. He didn't know what to think either.

A pair of big, heavy boots thudded from down the hall, a sure sign that his father would be here in a matter of seconds. Hans stood up a bit straighter, some habits never die, and a hardened expression grew on his face. At last, his formidable father walked into the main hall. How nice of him to wear his crown. The man thought to himself, internally laughing at his father's arrogance and mocking sense of nature. He could see the princess wringing her hands and it made the corner of his lips turn up ever so slightly.

"Well, son." Hans' attention was snapped away from the girl as his father's voice reverberated through the hall, "You're back. I heard Arendelle was brisk. I hope you enjoyed yourself."

All the prince could do was hold onto his expression. He couldn't let his father see the scowl that was threatening to show itself. If his father knew how much his words affected his youngest son, it would all be over. He wouldn't allow the king the satisfaction.

"I'll take your silence as answer enough," His father laughed, and he could hear it echoing even down the hall. "You really pulled a dicey stunt back there, son. I admire your courage, but you lack of tact worries me. Your effort was valiant, though I knew you would always fail. Afterall, you take far too much after your poor, late mother.

"A wonderful woman, she was. Always so kind and charming, but terribly invisible. Her invisibility lead to her weakness, just as your's will lead you down that same path. You try as you might, Hans, but you're playing with fire and there won't be anyone there when you get burned."

Suddenly, his father's attention turned to the girl beside his son, "Princess, I'm sorry you had to witness that pathetic show." Hans knew he was talking about him. "Hopefully the rest of your stay will be more pleasant."

Alexandra just stood there silently, her wide eyes staring at the king in a mixture of reverence, fear, and disgust. The prince wanted to tell his father off and let him know how audacious he was for saying all of those things in front of a woman. He wanted to do something that could show him how little he respected him, but he just stood there like a gutless shark.

The king took one last look at his son and then yelled at the guards, "Take him to his sleeping quarters, and look smart about it. He has a big day ahead of him."


	2. Chapter 2

_**Chapter 2**_

It wasn't until the morning when Alexandra saw Hans again. She had just stepped out of her room after attempting to look presentable, as she had had a rough night's sleep, and he was being taken the opposite way by the same two guards from the night prior. Their eyes didn't meet, and she wondered if he was embarrassed to look at her again. It seemed like he was, but all she wanted was for him to acknowledge her because she was sure that all she needed to know was in his eyes. She had known him before, and she was sure she could still know him now.

His eyes had always been the windows into his soul. They betrayed him more often than she knew he would want to admit.

The two guards took Hans down the hall until they turned a corner and he was no longer visible. She waited there for a moment until she heard a door open and close. Tentatively, she took a few short steps forward, tucking a piece of dark hair behind her ear. She jerked herself back when she heard someone cry out in pain.

"Hans…" She whispered under her breath, the voice unmistakable.

He cried out again and she winced, almost as if she was able to feel whatever pain he was going through. Again and again he screamed, but never begging for the torture to stop. She shook her head as a panicked feeling settled in the pit of her stomach. Turning on her heel, she ran in the other direction, headed for the staircase. Just as she was running down to the first floor, a pair of hands caught her shoulders.

Teary eyed, she looked up at the owner of the hands. Fredbjorn, one of Hans' many older brother, stood there looking down at her with worry in his eyes. She could still hear Hans' screams, and she was sure his brother could hear them too. Even though that fact was painfully clear, he didn't acknowledge it.

"Alexandra." He finally spoke, "Are you alright?"

_Maybe he would have answers_, she thought to herself. _Maybe he would be willing to give me answers._ She knew that Hans' brothers had been cruel to him in the past, but they couldn't _still_ be the monsters that he had made them out to be when they were children. She was sure that Fredbjorn wouldn't betray his brother like that.

She sniffled, but her voice was demanding, "What's going on? What's happening to Hans?

Another scream. The princess almost collapsed right there, if it weren't for Fredbjorn still holding her up she would have been splayed across the stair. He didn't seem phased by it though, and she felt her hope for his honesty beginning to disappear.

"Hans and Klaus are-" Another scream. "Just talking. I'm sure they'll be done in a few minutes."

She looked up at him, horrified not only by Hans' pain, but also by his brothers and their inability to tell her the truth. Quickly, she freed herself from his grasp and made her way back down the stairs. If she could escape the terrible sound of Hans' cries, then she would finally be at peace. She headed straight for the gardens, where she and Hans used to play, and flung herself down at the base of one of the biggest trees. She buried her head in her hands and tried to stop herself from crying.

The air was sweetened by the smell of summer. It pained her to feel the sun shining down on her and to hear the birds chirping to themselves. How could the world continue to go on while there were so many injustices occurring? It seemed ridiculous to even allow life to go on while others were suffering. There had to be something she could do, but not a single idea was coming to her.

Hans had to admit that he had seen Alexandra when he left his room that morning. He just could not bring himself to look her in the eye. He knew exactly what he was walking himself into when he passed through his brother's doorway, and he knew that if he had looked at her directly, he would have bolted in the other direction, attempted to escape. Instead, he had kept his head down and acted as though she were invisible.

The feeling of his brother's leather belt hitting his back hardly phased him now. His skin had turned raw and red, and after that he had become numb. _What an absolutely terrible metaphor._ He thought to himself as he continued to wince at his brother's relentless attacks. It served him better to focus on the sound of the leather hitting his skin, but he found that he couldn't tune out his brother.

"You're absolutely worthless, Hans." _Crack._

"You want to know why you couldn't even get the throne in Arendelle?" _Crack._

"I'll tell you why, brother." Finally his brother relented, but there was malice woven in his voice, "You're incredibly daft. You're impulsive, you can't even think a proper plan through. You want things because you believe you've earned them. What in your disgusting little life have you ever done to earn the throne?"

Silence. Even if Hans had wanted to say something, he found that his brother's strikes had rendered him speechless, knocking the breath out of him. He knew that if he didn't say anything, his brother would become even madder than before, but he couldn't find the words to say what he wanted to say. He wanted to rip his brother apart, put him in his place, show him what it really felt like.

Klaus chuckled and whipped his brother across the back once more, "That's exactly what I thought. No answer. God bless the people of Arendelle. If they had gotten _you_ as their new ruler." He scoffed, "I would have given it less than a week."

With that, he heard his brother's heavy boots thud across the floor and the door open and close. Hans gripped the sheets of the bed he had been laid across, a growl building up in his chest and attempting to spill out of him. He wasn't sure if this was the last of his torture, or if it was only beginning. Knowing his father, and at least his three eldest brothers, there was sure to be more where this had come from.

The disgraced prince made an effort to push himself up, but the movement of his shoulders sent an agonizing pain down his back. The stinging in his back just made it more painfully clear that Alexandra had surely heard everything that had happened, unless she had left the hall quickly. Knowing her for so long, Hans was sure that she had stayed at least to hear his first screams.

Tears threatened to spill over, and not having the power to hold them back, they began to fall down his freckled cheeks. It had been years since he had actually allowed himself to cry, let alone be on the verge of tears. Sobs racked through his exhausted, beaten body, but he could barely make a sound. It was torturous to even move, and he knew it would be like that for a while.

After a few minutes, and once Hans had stopped his crying, he procured all of his power and pushed himself into a sitting position. He grabbed his discarded shirt and began to rip it into strips. Once he had done so, he used his limited knowledge of first aid and wrapped the pieces of fabric around his wounds. He was sure that he was supposed to clean to wounds before wrapping them, but he wanted to get back to him room as quickly as possible, especially without Alexandra seeing him.

Once Alexandra had run out of tears, she picked herself up off of the ground and headed back into the castle. If she could help it, she was going to sneak back up to her room and if anyone asked, she would tell them she wasn't feeling well. Maybe she could let one of the servants know that she didn't want any visitors today.

She wiped her cheeks once more, just to make sure she didn't look like she had been crying incessantly for the past few minutes. Her steps echoed throughout the halls, and she was sure that _someone_ had to hear her entering. All she could pray for was that she'd be able to reach the stairs before anyone called out her name.

She was more than halfway up the steps and she could see Hans walking, more like _limping,_ towards his room. He wore no shirt, though she supposed the one he had been wearing before was now tied haphazardly around his torso. Even though she was a few yards away, she could tell how much pain he was in. It was written all over his face and in his eyes.

For a slip second, before Hans retreated into his room, their eyes met. Her's were horrified at the image of her childhood friend that stood before her, and his were filled with agony and embarrassment, what Hans had decided was the worst combination of emotion.

Alexandra stood there as Hans closed his door and before she could do anything, she fell unconscious at the top of the staircase.

**A/N: **Thank you so much to everyone who's followed/favourited/reviewed! I'm really sorry it's taken me this long to update, but I was really busy with some other stuff. Anyway, I'm hoping to have a set schedule for updating from now on. Hopefully I'll let you know when I figure it out. (Also, credit for Hans' brothers' names goes to emmasdisneyworld on Tumblr.)


End file.
